Gay Mississippi Mayoral Candidate Was Murdered, But Not Necessarily Because He Was Gay

Marco McMillian, a 34-year-old candidate for mayor in Clarksdale, Mississippi, who has been described as perhaps the first politically viable openly gay candidate for office in Mississippi history, was found dead in the woods yesterday. A search had begun on Tuesday after 22-year-old Lawrence Reed was involved in an accident while driving McMillian’s car. The death is being treated as a homicide, and Reed, though not yet charged, is incustody.